Wellspring Issue #10 RCCS

EXCLUSIVE! RABBANIT YEMIMA MIZRACHI THE ONLY WAY TO DEAL WITH PAIN

C is for Courage

I survived cancer.

My mother did not.

But her legacy was my ultimate survival doctrine.

DEDICATED TO HEALTH Is there a way to prevent illness?

Find out how.

CUP OF TEA

Dr. Tova Koenigsberg, Director of Breast Imaging at Montefiore: Why an annual mammogram can save your life In conjunction with:

SPECIAL CANCER AWARENESS ISSUE AUTUMN 2016 ZISHE LOWY OF RCCS PATIENT SERVICES: WHAT IT'S LIKE TO BE A PATIENT

AUTUMN 2016/5777

Editor In Chief Shiffy Friedman, MSW, CNWC Nutritional Advisory Board Jack Friedman, PhD • Moshe Weinberger Shani Taub, CDC • Dr. Rachael Schindler Tanya Rosen, MS CAI CPT Fitness Advisory Board LR Wilen, PFC • Syma Kranz, PFC Esther Fried, PFC

WELL INFORMED

Managing Editor Esty Cinner

5

TORAH WELLSPRING

By Rabbanit Yemima Mizrachi

Feature Editors Rochel Gordon • Liba Solomon, CNWC

7

HEALTH TIDBITS IN THE NEWS

By Liba Solomon, CNWC

Copy Editors Gila Zemmel • Faige Badian

8

AN INSIDE VIEW

By Zishe Lowy

Food Editor Levia Joseph

10

FIGURES

By Miriam Katz

18

DEDICATED TO HEALTH 10 Questions for Rabbi Yankel Marmorstien

By Esther Handler

Creative Directors Miriam Bluming • Rivky Schwartz Art Director Chavy Lefkowitz Digital Marketing Goldi Feldman • Simcha Nunez Store Distribution Motty Srugo 718-496-1364 Write To Us: 694 Myrtle Ave. Suite 389 Brooklyn, NY 11205 info@wellspringmagazine.com www.wellspringmagazine.com The Wellspring Magazine is published monthly. All rights are reserved. Reproduction in whole or in part or in any form without prior written permission from the publisher is prohibited. The publisher reserves the right to edit all articles for clarity, space and editorial sensitivities. The Wellspring Magazine assumes no responsibility for the content or kashrus of advertisements in the publication, nor for the content of books that are referred to or excerpted herein. The contents of The Wellspring Magazine, such as text, graphics and other material (content) are intended for educational purposed only. The content is not intended to substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Always seek the advice of your health care provider with any questions you have regarding your medical condition.

LIVING WELL 12

WELLBEING 20

Find The Wellspring as a monthly insert in Ami Magazine or at your local pharmacy or health food store.

For the PDF version and for back issues, visit www.wellspringmagazine.com.

HEALTH PERSONALITY Dr. Tova Koenigsberg

By Miri Davis

FAREWELL

Production: www.mediaotg.com

COVER FEATURE C is for Courage As told to Shiffy Friedman By Sara

23

FOOD FOR THOUGHT

From the Editor

Dear Readers, I had the honor of speaking with Rabbi Hershel Kohn, founder and president of RCCS, for an article we featured in issue #10 of The Wellspring. The editorial team unilaterally elected this quintessential giver as the perfect first interviewee for our new column, Dedicated to Health, which poses ten questions to an individual in the community who has dedicated their life toward improving or promoting the health of our brethren. I rarely spoke throughout the interview—the stories he shared were so heartbreaking. But when I hung up the phone and numbly mulled over what had transpired during our conversation, I realized what had touched me most. Here was a man who has been dealing with cancer patients for over two decades but still cried for those patients, every one of them. After he shared the details of one particularly painful case, there was silence on the phone, silence across the Atlantic. For a few long minutes, he cried.

“The greatest test of courage is to bear defeat without losing heart,” was the quote that came to mind. But then I realized that here was a man, and an organization, who as a team not only never lose heart, but for whom defeat is not an option. As long as they find even an iota of hope, they hang on to it fiercely, holding the hands of their broken patients until the light appears from the distance. How fortunate we are to have these incredible people in our midst.

But this is not only about crying, dear readers. And that is what is so amazing about the RCCS team, and about us, Jewish women. There is a time to cry, but there is also a time to do: Eis la’asos laHashem. When we do whatever it takes to prevent illness, to maintain our health, we are fulfilling Hashem’s command. As Rabbanit Yemima Mizrachi eloquently shares in her exclusive article in this issue, “Every step you take toward leading a healthy life, dear women, is a step for which you will be rewarded.”

When we sat down to plan this issue focusing on cancer, the first of its kind, we knew our primary goal would not be to produce a tear-jerker. The pain of the reality is strong enough: the machalah lurks all around us. Instead, the combined mission of The Wellspring, a magazine that is focused on promoting health awareness in the community, and RCCS, an organization that cares deeply not only about patients who have been diagnosed, r”l, but also about those who are in the category of prevention, is to produce an informative publication to spread awareness to women about cancer prevention and early detection.

In these pages you will find a compilation of updates, statistics, and information to help you make your hishtadlus in attaining and maintaining a clean bill of health for yourself and your family. On this long, winter evening, enjoy a Cup of Tea in the illuminating company of Dr. Tova Koenigsberg, a frum mother of a large family who has channeled her desire to help women into a fulfilling career as the director of the Breast Imaging Department at Montefiore. And for a hefty dose of inspiration, take a peek into the life of our cover story’s narrator, Sara. “Cancer is not the worst thing,” she says. “Nothing makes you weaker than losing hope.”

Baruch Hashem, with today’s plethora of tools for prevention and early detection, and the multitude of treatment strategies available, there is hope, dear women. And may your kindhearted gesture toward those in need serve as the best prevention of all.

Besoros tovos and a happy, healthy winter to you all,

Shiffy Friedman

shiffy@wellspringmagazine.com

Well-Put!

“Thankfully, we live in a world in which a cancer diagnosis is not a death sentence,” says Zishe Lowy, director of patient services at RCCS. But this does not mean that a cancer patient is not in for a journey—a long, harrowing haul toward regaining health and strength. Read about the remarkable services RCCS provides to ease the way on page 8.

What’s the key to surviving breast cancer?

YOU. This message brought to you by:

Well Informed

Torah Wellspring By Rabbanit Yemima Mizrachi

WHAT CAN YOU DO?

FOR YOURSELF AND YOUR SUFFERING SISTERS AND BROTHERS

WHEN YOU ATTEND AN EVENT TO HELP OTHERS, every moment that you spend there—even as you’re enjoying yourself and catching up with friends, is a mitzvah. How proud you make Hashem when He sees His precious daughters gather together for the sake of their less fortunate sisters and brothers. The zechut is incredible, dear sisters.

But what can you do when you get home, when you think of the stories you heard, the pain that others are enduring, the tzaros in this world? Let’s talk about it.

When Moshe Rabbeinu learned that his days were coming to an end, he was filled with an intense desire to live.

How he wanted to serve Hashem one more day! How he wanted to lead the nation! So why couldn’t he succeed in achieving his dream? The Midrash teaches us something profoundly enlightening.

“Ten deaths were ascribed to Moshe,” relates the Midrash. We find ten references to Moshe’s imminent death in the Torah. “Karvu yamecha lamus, your days are numbered.”

“Hinei anochi mos, soon I will die.”

These references, the Midrash teaches, are signs that nine times Moshe Rabbeinu was successful in deferring the decree. Only the tenth time, he failed.

Why? How did the decree ultimately catch up with him? The answer brings tears to my eyes. Moshe Rabbeinu said, “So many times I’ve annulled decrees from the nation. So many times Hashem wanted to destroy them and I saved them. If so, when the time will come to enter Eretz Yisrael, I, who

have never sinned in my life, will pray on my own behalf and the verdict will be overturned in my favor.”

Tells us the illuminating Midrash, that as soon as Hakadosh Baruch Hu saw that Moshe Rabbeinu did not take the decree seriously and intended to postpone his tefillah for a later time, He sprang upon him and promised with His holy Name that Moshe would not merit to cross the Jordan River.

What a Midrash! Hashem said to Moshe, “Do you think that this is how it works? That you can postpone a tefil-

When you’re feeling disappointed, lonely, or pained for your fellow Jew, do not wallow in the emotions. lah? Now you will learn that it’s not so.

You will not enter Eretz Yisrael.”

The Midrash ends with words of caution to us, dear Jewish women. At the moment a desire awakens in your heart, whether you want to get married, see nachas from your child, have parnassah, get thin, or get rich, stop at that very second and translate your desire into a prayer. Don’t lose that opportunity! David Hamelech says in Tehillim (89:14), “V’ani tefillasi lecha Hashem eis ratzon,” which can be interpreted to mean, “When my moment of ratzon, desire, hits, I immediately turn it into a prayer.” This is the way to attain the salvation you’re wishing for, dear sisters.

When you’re feeling disappointed, lonely, or pained for your fellow Jew, do not wallow in the emotions. This is your chance, dear women, to transform your sadness into a heartfelt plea. I’ve seen too many women translate their pain into a shopping spree, an eating binge, an addiction. This happens because they haven’t learned to translate their eis ratzon, their desperate moment, into an immediate tefillah. “Tomorrow I will finish the Tehillim,” they say. Why not right now? Why are you postponing this opportune moment?

And along with the importance of tefillah, remember, dear women, how crucial it is for us to guard our health.

As the strongholds in our home, we Jewish women must do everything in our power to ensure that our bodies are functioning as they should. I was so happy to hear from Shiffy Friedman, my English writer, that awareness about health and wellness is being spread throughout the community through The Wellspring. Yiddishkeit is not about being a martyr. It’s not about running on little sleep, on fast food. It’s about making wise decisions regarding the bodies Hashem has gifted us with; it’s about taking the steps to prevent illness in ourselves and our children.

Every step you take toward leading a healthy life, dear women, is a step for which you will be rewarded. It’s your way of telling Hakadosh Baruch Hu, “I appreciate what you’ve given me. I want to do my best in taking care of this gift.”

May we only hear besorot tovot and may all of the cholei Yisrael merit a refuah sheleimah, bekarov.

Rabbanit Yemima Mizrachi is a world-renowned lecturer whose weekly Torah column appears in Ami Magazine. Her first book, a magnificent compilation of chizuk and Torah thoughts, will debut just in time for Chanukah.

Cancer Awareness Issue | The Wellspring 5

Well Informed

Health Tidbits in the News By Liba Solomon, CNWC

GET YOUR CUP OF JOE! It may be a cancer-protective agent Do you use coffee to get out of bed in the morning? This caffeinated beverage may have more incredible benefits, recent research has found, including helping to fend off disease, including colorectal cancer.

The American Cancer Society estimates that, in the United States, more than 95,000 new cases of colon cancer and 39,000 new cases of rectal cancer were diagnosed in 2016. Colorectal cancer is the third most common cancer diagnosed in men and women.

However, coffee may help reduce instances of colon cancer. A recent study published in Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention found that regular coffee consumption inversely correlates to colorectal cancer risk. Coffee has been identified as a protective agent against colorectal cancer, as several of its components affect the physiology of the colon and can make cancerous cells less likely to take root there. The Journal of the National Cancer Institute also substantiates these claims. Frequent coffee consumption has been associated with a reduced risk of colorectal cancer in a number of case-control studies, for both men and women.

Drinking coffee may not only help keep cancer at bay; it may boost the survival rate from colon cancer, too.

Information from a study published in The Journal of Clinical Oncology stated that colon cancer patients who are heavy coffee drinkers have a far lower risk of dying or having their cancer return than those who do not drink coffee.

But here’s the caveat: significant benefits start at two to three cups per day. People who consumed four cups of caffeinated coffee or more a day had half the rate of recurrence than non-coffee drinkers.

Until doctors start recommending coffee consumption as a preventative measure, perhaps it’s better to stay away.

AN APPLE A DAY Can it keep cancer away?

Eating apples every day can slash the risk of up to five different types of cancer, according to new research published in Public Health Nutrition.

Scientists found that people who eat at least one apple a day were much less likely to get lung, bowel, mouth, digestive tract, or breast tumors than people who rarely or never eat the popular fruit.

A review of over 40 previous studies, by experts at the University of Perugia in Italy, found that the biggest benefits were seen in cancer of the stomach and esophagus, where some data suggested apples nearly halved the tumor risk.

A healthy diet, including regular intake of fruit and vegetables, has long been thought to have a protective effect against many types of cancer. Apples are also high in flavonoids, compounds that are thought to reduce the risk of cancer and heart disease. So keep on chomping!

MISCONCEPTION: Cancer is a death sentence.

THE TRUTH: It does not have to be.

Survival rates for some cancers, such as breast, prostate, and thyroid cancers, now exceed 90 percent. In the United States, the likelihood of dying from cancer has dropped steadily since the 1990s. The survival rate for all cancers combined is about 66 percent, according to the Annual Report to the Nation on the Status of Cancer.

6 The Wellspring | Autumn 2016

KEEP AN EYE ON THE SCALE New research shows it can save your life You know that weight gain is not good for you—for many reasons. The latest study, though, offers the most frightening reason of all. Substantial weight gain over many years, reveals new research conducted at the University of Manchester, increases the risk of various cancers in men by 50 percent and in women by almost 20 percent.

In the study of approximately 300,000 people in America, including 177,500 men and 111,500 women, researchers categorized the population into five different lifetime weight trajectories. While some (luckily!) gained a bit of weight between the ages of 18 and 65, others became morbidly obese. The population was then followed for an average of 15 years to see who went on to develop obesity-related cancers.

The results? Researchers found that the more weight the participants put on over time, the greater their risk for developing cancer. Of the 300,000 people in the study, 9,400 women and 5,500 men were diagnosed with obesity-related cancer after the age of 65.

“It’s important that people are informed about ways to reduce their risk of cancer,” says the study’s lead author Dr. Hannah Lennon. “While there are no guarantees against the disease, keeping a healthy weight can help you stack the odds in your favor and has lots of other benefits too.”

WHERE THERE’S SMOKE There may be cancer New research published in JAMA Internal Medicine shows that cigarettes contribute to more than 1 in 4 cancer deaths in the U.S. The rate is highest among men in southern states where smoking is more common and tobacco control policies are less strict.

Analyzing 2014 health surveys and government data, the researchers estimated how many cancer deaths were likely attributable to smoking, and compared that with deaths from all cancers.

Because the American Cancer Society has found how detrimental smoking can be to people’s health, they designated the third Thursday in November as the Great American Smokeout, the day on which smokers are encouraged to take an important step toward a healthier life by making a plan to quit, or by planning in advance to quit smoking on that day.

Who will be joining this year?

MISCONCEPTION: Cell phone use causes cancer.

THE TRUTH:

It does not, according to studies conducted so far. Cancer is caused by genetic mutations and cell phones emit a type of low-frequency energy that does not damage genes.

MISCONCEPTION: A lump in the breast means the person has breast cancer.

THE TRUTH: Only a small percentage of breast lumps turn out to be malignant.

But, of course, if a woman discovers a persistent lump or notices any changes in breast tissue, it should never be ignored. She should see a physician and undergo screening immediately to rule out cancer.

Cancer Awareness Issue | The Wellspring 7

Well Informed

An Inside View By Zishe Lowy, Director of Patient Services at RCCS

What It's Like to Be a Cancer Patient And how RCCS steps in to fill the void

Thankfully, we live in a world in which a cancer diagnosis is not a death sentence.The advancements in the medical world are incredible, Baruch Hashem. But when a man, woman, or child does hear those words from the doctor, their life goes haywire. From that very first visit at which their illness is confirmed, they are desperate for not only a guiding hand, but also assistance in every aspect regarding their journey to recovery. RCCS is that guiding hand.With departments that cater to every need of the patient, the organization commits itself to do everything it takes to ensure the patient the smoothest possible path through this difficult journey.

Insurance Department When RCCS was founded twenty years ago by Rabbi Hershel Kohn, its primary service was to subsidize insurance premiums, paying the patient’s monthly insurance bill so that they wouldn’t have to downgrade to a coverage of lesser or insufficient quality. Money becomes a big issue when someone in the family is sick, especially if the spouse or patient himself can’t work, and RCCS’s original goal was to carry that burden for the patient.

The insurance department is in charge of a lot more than simply paying premiums. An entire staff reviews every policy, writing up clinical and insurance reviews. When it’s time for insurance renewal, they’re at the helm to make it happen. If a patient is covered by a company and their policy is approaching the renewal date, the staff gets in touch with the broker well in advance to make sure that the patient remains covered.

Although the primary goal of RCCS was to ensure that every patient receives the best coverage possible, over the years, the directors of the organization realized that the patients’ needs extend far beyond that. Take the insurance advocacy service, for example. Probably the most utilized service of all, this department fills a gaping void for every cancer patient.Anyone who has had even a short visit to the hospital knows about the technical process entailed in the billing. A cancer patient, who unfortunately spends a large portion of time under medical care, frequently ends up coming across a complicated barrier at one point or another in their ordeal.Whether the patient is rich or poor, they may be billed for services or procedures that they don’t recognize, for example. The job of this department is to advocate for the patient with the insurance company. Sometimes the process involves appealing, making a second appeal, or even going down to a state court. This department fights hundreds of cases on a daily basis.

Medical Referral Department There are many organizations providing such a service, but RCCS’s is very active and devoted to cancer only. Directed by Rabbi Mordechai Aharon Meisels, who has dedicated his life to this venerable mission, this department’s goal is to connect every patient to the best doctor for his particular case. Every person who reaches out for guidance, be it a question like “Does this make sense? Do I need a second opinion?” is given the time and thought to ensure the best possible outcome. Although RCCS does not provide medical advice or make medical decisions, Rabbi Meisels and his team make sure to refer the patient to the best doctor. This service has developed into a huge department that does much more than merely provide the name and phone number of a doctor; its dedicated staff holds the patient’s hand throughout the entire process.

A cancer patient often does not know where to begin. First the team ensures that every new patient has an organized, detailed file in the system. They have the patient sign a release form from the hospital so they can gather all the information and review the case in order to make informed decisions. Once Rabbi Meisels or the coordinator is well-versed in the patient’s case, he can help the patient get an expedited appointment with a specialist.The team continuously communicates with the patient, coordinating appointments and the transfer of files whenever necessary. They try to educate the patient and explain what is going on so he won’t get lost in the details. Manned by highly qualified individuals, this department never sleeps. Although it’s officially open from 9 to 5, because that’s when doctors’ offices are open, the team can be reached at all hours of the day or night.

8 The Wellspring | Autumn 2016

Medical Subsidy Program Even for patients who receive insurance payments from RCCS, or patients who are not in need of this service, medical subsidy can be crucial. For example, if a patient’s insurance covers their treatment at Sloan Kettering, but they want a second opinion from a doctor who does not accept their insurance, they may be at a loss. Or, the patient may be covered by an excellent insurance but the deductibles and co-pays can be exorbitant. For cases like these, RCCS has a special grant that pays $2500 per patient per year. This is an incredible bonus service for people who have so much else to worry about. Thanks to this fund, when it comes to an emergency situation, such as when someone who was recently diagnosed is still figuring out which doctor to use and insurance is an issue, we send the doctor a notarized letter that the private visit will be covered by RCCS.

Financial Application Committee Although RCCS truly wants to help every Jew in need, its team understands the importance of making weighty decisions, especially when channeling funds received by donors. For this reason, RCCS boasts a financial application committee that is comprised of seven very busy businessmen who devote their time to this worthy cause. Whether the decision concerns insurance or a medical subsidy, the committee reviews the patient’s file and gives its approval accordingly. Every case is thoroughly reviewed to ensure that every dollar spent by the organization is spent properly.

The Catastrophic Fund and Mortgage Payment Program When a patient services coordinator realizes that the family they are dealing with is in dire straits even without the added burden of cancer, they reach out to private donors and coordinate significant amounts of money to be sent directly to the patient.

There is a mortgage payment program, covered by an outside donor, which pays the patient’s mortgage three months at a time.

Hand-in-Hand RCCS offers the incredible Hand-in-Hand program to our patients, a service through which our coordinators connect a patient to a survivor who went through the same diagnosis and has successfully recovered. This is not a simple job. RCCS thinks through every match carefully to make sure that it’s a good shidduch, and that the situation shouldn’t lead to a negative outcome in any way.

Extra Perks In addition to the routine services that RCCS provides, the organization also offers tuition grants of $200,000 per year for siblings or children of patients. Every year, over 600 personalized Chanukah gifts are delivered to every child whose loved one has cancer. RCCS researches every family to find out what each child would appreciate most and to ensure that they actually want to receive it from the organization before shipping it to them.

This is a much-needed service for parents who unfortunately don’t have the time, money, or headspace to provide Chanukah gifts to their children.

Advanced Database RCCS also boasts a very sophisticated and expensive computer program that keeps a perfect record of every patient. If someone is dealing with a complicated medical condition, it would be impossible for them to always speak to the same medical service coordinator. And because RCCS doesn’t want people to ever have to repeat themselves, every detail is entered in the correct place.

Whoever picks up the phone to a patient quickly logs in to their file and knows exactly where the patient is up to in no time. If someone calls our office now to know what he was advised two years ago, by whom, the staff will have an answer for him on the spot. Thanks to this system, the committee is able to get a clear picture of the patient’s situation before a payment is authorized. RCCS is run like the most efficient business, each department thoroughly organized, and with complete confidentiality kept throughout.

What started as a financial support system for cancer patients has burgeoned into an empire of chessed—an organization that never sleeps as its dedicated teams do everything it takes to ease the patient’s journey toward recovery.

It’s the least we can do for our brethren in pain.

Cancer Awareness Issue | The Wellspring 9

Well Informed

Figures By Miriam Katz

NUMBERS DON’T LIE Cancer Prevention Stats in the U.S.

of adolescents (12–19 years old) are overweight or obese

50% increase in cancer risk in obese individuals

10 The Wellspring | Autumn 2016

3.5

million plus

of children (6–11 years old) are overweight or obese

the amount of skin cancer cases per year, outweighing all cancers combined

30

SPF

37.2%

of adults (20–74 years old) are overweight or obese

33.3%

blocks 97% of UVB rays

#1

type of cancer in the U.S. is skin cancer

1

(about a palmful) of sunscreen should be applied to cover exposed areas

ounce

70.4%

of adult men are cigarette smokers

80%

18.5%

of lung, bronchus, and trachea cancer is attributed to cigarette smoking in adults 35 years and older

(Source: American Cancer Society)

EARLY DETECTION SAVES LIVES almost

100%

the survival rate for women with stage 3 breast cancer the survival rate for women with stage 4 breast cancer

40

72% 22%

the survival rate for women with stage 0 or 1 breast cancer

the recommended age from when women should have annual mammograms

3

factors that influence cancer survival according to the American Cancer Society: early detection, improved treatments, and access to care

(Ed. note: As Jews, we know that this is our hishtadlus and that Hashem is the ultimate Healer.)

234,190

people are diagnosed with breast cancer every year

71.4% of women ages 50–64 underwent mammography screening in 2013

59.6%

of women ages 40–49 underwent mammography screening in 2013

14.5 million cancer survivors in the U.S. Cancer Awareness Issue | The Wellspring 11

Living Well

Cover Feature As told to Shiffy Friedman by Sara

C is for Courage

12  The Wellspring | Autumn 2016

I survived cancer.

My mother did not.

But her legacy of emunah and joy was my ultimate survival doctrine.

I was nine years old when my mother called me into her room. She locked the door gently behind her and sat down on her bed. “Come,” she said softly, “sit near me, dear.” I climbed onto the bed that symbolized security, the bed that was my safe haven when my nightmares of monsters and darkness had me running from my room in the middle of the night, only to learn that life would never be secure again.

H

er hand on my shoulder, my mother said to me, “Sara, Mommy is sick.” With those words, my childhood was sucked into a deep, dark vacuum, leaving behind only shards that I would be forced to collect, all on my own. As the oldest child, I became not only the mother of my five siblings, but also the caretaker of my father, who was left to struggle with a family all on his own and was eventually diagnosed with cancer as well.

Only later, did I learn that my mother had been stricken with breast cancer, the notorious disease infamous for its genetic properties. She was at the prime of her life, 38 years old, when she was diagnosed.

More than she was a patient, my mother was a fighter. What a fighter she was! First, she felt a lump. Then, she was diagnosed. And then, she became a nurse. “I will take care of others,” she stated bravely, “and may the Ribbono shel Olam take care of me.” Despite the illness that was ravaging her body, my mother forged on. Her heart pumping for her fellow Jews, she joined the Bikur Cholim in her community. This warrior of a woman would drive people to the hospital, gracious and chirpy, sympathizing with their situation as if illness was something she couldn’t imagine.

Cancer Awareness Issue | The Wellspring 13

Living Well

Cover Feature

All those years, nobody knew of the secret she was harboring. The deep, dark secret that would eventually snatch her away from their midst. Every morning, she woke up with a sense of mission, an undying spirit. She would get dressed, conceal her pale skin in a fine mask of makeup, and head out to accumulate merits. She didn’t have that many chances of survival back then, and she was slowly preparing for her imminent death, but even at home, she was the happiest mother to us, her six kids. She was our star, the light that would never, could never dim.

But then, one grey morning, at 42, she left us. She left us for a better place, where the angels awaited her with open arms. But ever the woman with a head on her shoulders, she left us with a priceless legacy that lives on in our hearts, a legacy that dictates every step we take, every breath. And this was the legacy that kept me afloat when I, too, at 38 received the very same diagnosis that had led to my orphanhood at age 12.

Today, as a survivor of breast cancer, and many other challenges that sapped more strength out of me than any cancer could, I share that legacy with other women, women who are still struggling to find that thread of hope. “Not in front of your children,” I tell them. “If you want to, and you surely want to, cry your heart out in your room. Yell and scream if you’d like. Lose it and get back to yourself, but not in front of the kids.” Today, as a wife and mother of eight, I can only begin to grasp the pain that my mother endured.

The reality that hit her in the face every time she returned from a visit that prepared her for the worst— seeing her precious children, down to the toddler, and knowing that she would not merit to raise them, did not deter her from putting up a strong front. Oh, she had reason to cry—too many reasons to count perhaps, but instead she chose to teach us how to laugh. She taught us to be happy despite the suffering.

14 The Wellspring | Autumn 2016

Because I was aware that breast cancer was in my family history, I made sure to take the necessary steps to maintain good health.

At 28, I had myself tested for the BRCA gene, only to receive a negative result on every count, which confirmed that I was not a carrier of the breast cancer gene. But then, at 36, six months after I’d received an absolutely clean result from a mammogram, I felt a lump under my arm. There was no way I could

Only later, did I learn that my mother had been stricken with breast cancer, the notorious disease infamous for its genetic properties. not see it, no way I could ignore the blaring sign.

The truth is, though, that while I was only officially diagnosed at 36, I lived with the knowledge that breast cancer would strike sooner or later.

In a book titled Motherless Daughters, which I came across after I was diagnosed, I read how the uncanny prediction I was living with, and which was confirmed as the reality, is shared by almost all daughters who’ve lost their mother to a genetically-associated cancer. We wait for the day that we will be stricken, too.

It’s frightening, but I was basically waiting my whole life for that very

moment when the doctor would turn to me and say, “You have it.”

It’s a painful reality, but perhaps it eases the moment of truth, when the doctor finally utters those dreaded words. Ironically, I was well prepared when the team of doctors and surgeons told me straight out that I had Stage 3 breast cancer. I was well prepared when they told me I would need six months of chemotherapy and then a full-blown double mastectomy, not a small lumpectomy, to remove all traces of the cancer, as well as my lymph nodes. The tumor was gigantic; the journey to recovery was too.

Throughout this trying chapter in my life, my mother’s legacy served as my doctrine. To stay in bed with all the excuses in the world or to head for the makeup kit and stretch my lips as far as they can go so my husband and children would be around a happy person? To wallow in my misery, in the pain, in the darkness, or to push myself forward and emerge a champion? The answers were crystal clear to me. There were no two options in the game of life, I had learned all too early.

At one of my chemotherapy sessions, I met a woman who was a film writer and a survivor. “I watch you come here every week looking all prim and pretty,” she told me, “and I wonder, ‘where do you think you’re going? This is no party!” And I said to her, “To chemo.’” There was no denying where I was going, but it was my choice to come with a positive attitude. After I shared the rest of my life story with her, she said to me, “If I write your story, it would be labeled as fiction. No one would believe this really happened to one strong woman, who is still smiling.”

Today, I am 52 years old with a clean bill of health, Baruch Hashem.

I have all the reasons in the world to smile. And I want to be there for the women who haven’t found those reasons yet. When a woman is stricken with cancer, lo aleinu, she often finds that even those closest to her can’t always help her. While

family is everything, especially in time of crisis, it may not provide everything the patient needs. It’s hard to talk to people about things they can’t understand. A large part of the woman’s recovery process, then, is to welcome positive, understanding people into her life. By surrounding herself with people who can help her find peace and joy, she is able to make it to the finish line with a core that is stronger than ever. That is my mission as a survivor—to be that positive person to the women who need it as badly as air to breathe.

I understand these women not only because of what my body endured, but because I became the mother of my five siblings when I was barely 12. Because I was forced to carry the burden of their needs and the needs of my father, I am able to fathom the pain of a mother who faces the end. I understand their anguish when they wonder aloud, “What will this do to my children?” because I watched my mother struggle with those very thoughts, and I know the answer better than anyone else: It is all worth it.

My siblings and I have merited a closeness that cannot be untethered by the greatest force in the world.

Especially because we sat shivah for our parents when we were too young to grasp what had happened, we became an inseparable bunch.

Although the people around us tried their very best to understand us, only we siblings truly did. My brother who was six at my mother’s petirah, my baby, is a prominent person in the community today.

When I was diagnosed, I spoke with him. “Is there something I’m just not getting?” I asked him.

I almost felt as if we’d gone full circle, and I feared the end. And my precious baby brother said to me, “Sara, Avraham Avinu was tested ten times. Wasn’t he a man of faith the first time? The second time? Why ten?” And he explained that the word nisayon

contains the root of neis, a banner.

When Hashem sends one challenge after another, it’s His way of saying, “Show Me your banner. I know it’s there, but raise it up higher for everyone to see.” Hashem wants to see what we’re writing on that banner.

What’s your reply to his decree?

What the Ribbono shel Olam gives is His department, the brother I’d cared for taught me. It would be

On the bleak days, when there was not a strand of hair on my body, I would stand at the mirror and look myself in the eye. my job to raise that banner as high as I could—to the world, but mostly to myself. How strong would I make my core? How happy would I truly be in my heart? I took out every sefer I could get my hands on, I infused my spirit with the consoling words of Torah, and I realized that every challenge Hashem sends our way is simply a test

of emunah. When I embraced this idea to the fullest extent, I was enveloped in true peace. At that level, I felt no fear, no pain.

To every chemo session, I would show up with a notebook—the place where I would track my thoughts.

Was I heading upward or being dragged down? Was I remembering that I was here for a mission?

I came in happy, carrying a secret that nobody would dream was the truth. In my physically-tainted blood coursed the pure strength of my mother and the love of Torah of my father, a tzaddik in his own right.

On the bleak days, when there was not a strand of hair on my body, I would stand at the mirror and look myself in the eye. I was completely bald—not even an eyelash left. There was nothing there.

It’s frightening, it’s disconcerting, but it’s also when you feel what you’re made of. You’re maimed and poisoned, but you’re 100% pure.

It’s hard to understand this when you have never experienced it, and may you never know of this purity. But about ten years ago, when RCCS sent me the first woman to talk to, I knew I had to do this—to give other women the gift of clarity Hashem had blessed me with. Her name was Brucha Reizy. She was 26 years old, from Williamsburg, a mother of two girls and a

Cancer Awareness Issue | The Wellspring 15

Living Well

Cover Feature

10-month-old baby boy. Her cancer was everywhere. And she was probably one of the happiest people I ever met.

Before they would wheel her into surgery, Brucha Reizy would tell the doctors, “If anything goes wrong in the operating room, don’t worry. It’s okay. It’s all because of G-d. And if it goes well, it’s okay too. It’s all because of G-d.”

Our time together was precious.

While this young beautiful mother would unburden her heavy heart, I would listen, cry along, stroke her hand. Whenever I visited, her father would ask the doctors not to disturb. “She’s helping more than you are,” he would say.

When she didn’t have the strength to speak anymore, I would lie down next to her and hold her hand. Toward the end, she said to me, “I want to write a letter to my children.” And as she slowly brought her thousand thoughts into a few words that emerged as a broken whisper, I wrote. I wrote from a mother’s heart to her children’s—the children who would not remember her.

And toward the very end, Brucha Reizy bared her soul. Although she admired him very much for his strength and support, she told me delicate-

ly that she didn’t feel her husband would be able to take on the role as her children’s mother, especially for her baby. “I want him to remarry right away,” said the woman who breathed her last with her children on her mind.

When she was niftar, I went to be menachem avel. An obvious outsider to the community, many wanted to know why I was there. “I had the great zechus to get to know Brucha

“You were the only person she ever wanted to talk to,” Brucha Reizy’s father said to me before I left. And that’s when I delivered his dying daughter’s last wish.

Reizy over the past six months,” I said. And when I started to share my memories of her, the family could not believe how much I knew about them too.

It was comforting for them to hear how strong their daughter and sister had been until the very end.

And when I was done talking to the adults, I

16 The Wellspring | Autumn 2016

took Brucha Reizy’s young children into the kitchen. I looked into their confused eyes, large, beautiful, and dark like their mother’s had been, and told them the things she wanted me to tell them—how much joy they brought into her life, how much she loved them and still does. When I shared how much I knew about them and what they liked—even their favorite color and foods, they knew to believe my words. They listened silently as I spoke, drinking in my every word and letting it seep deep, deep into their beings.

“You were the only person she ever wanted to talk to,” Brucha Reizy’s father said to me before I left. And that’s when I delivered his dying daughter’s last wish: that her children be raised by a mother and father. A few weeks later, I was the first person he called with the bittersweet news.

Because I’m not from the circle of women that RCCS refers to me, it’s so much easier for these women to talk. They feel comfortable unburdening to me about their concerns about their children, and how they feel about the way their husbands and parents are dealing with the situation. Some women cry about their mothers who won’t let them do anything, which makes them feel really sick. Others share how painful it is for them to watch their mothers cry all day. They can’t handle that either. We talk about whether or not to share the diagnosis with others, the pain of being the talk of the town. It really hurts. There is so much to deal with besides for this. They don’t want to be seen as a rachmanus in other people’s eyes. To some women, I simply offer helpful tips, such as “Eat before you go for chemo and drink a lot after.” It all depends on the woman I’m connecting with.

While some women find the strength within to wage this mammoth battle even at Stage 4, others are falling apart at Stage 1. In the first phone conversation, I can hear who has the coping mechanisms and who

will need my hand to hold every step of the way. “You’re not weak even if you feel weak,” I tell these struggling women, each one of them a hero in her own way. And I remember what I kept telling myself when I was in the rut: Cancer is not the worst thing.

Nothing makes you weaker than losing hope.

A cancer diagnosis, may you never know, brings with it the obligation to make so many life-altering decisions. The doctor a patient uses will probably follow the woman through the rest of her life. In addition to the shock and devastation, the technical work is so overwhelming. And when chemotherapy starts, women need an infinite dose of chizuk before and after they lose their hair and other physical gifts they’d taken for granted. When a woman endures cancer, especially breast cancer, she almost does not recognize herself. She doesn’t feel like the person she once was. The repercussions are traumatic; the least we can do is stand at her side and hold her hand. With faith, women can endure even the worst.

Along my journey, I’ve met countless people who’ve proven this truth

to me. When I was really sick, the radiologist introduced me to Valery, a fellow patient who was already en route to recovery. She would come visit while I was getting chemo and say to me, “Sara, G-d is good. The best people will come out of the woodwork to help you now.” Later, her cancer returned with a vengeance. It went to her spine. When I once called to ask her how she’s doing, her voice was chirpy. “I’m gardening,” she said simply. She almost died ten times, but I never heard her complain.

Through my work with other women, I have learned more than I have taught. Yes, they reach out to me for guidance, but they fill me with awe and admiration time and time again.

Through RCCS, I’ve been honored to have this incredible learning opportunity which reminds me every single day about what’s important in life, why we’re here.

I once got a phone call from a young woman in California. “Cancer gave me back my life,” she said. Originally a Bais Yaakov girl from Brooklyn, she had left the fold and moved to California, where she got married, had two children, and then separated. To her, cancer was the wakeup

call. She took the message seriously and reclaimed a solid life for herself.

Along the journey, I’ve also learned that for some patients, the greatest help I can give is to let them be. I remember being called to speak with a 16-year-old girl who had been diagnosed with a brain tumor on Chanukah. Honestly, I was at a loss. “What am I going to say to her?” I thought.

On the way to the hospital on that blustery night, I picked up some donuts. When I walked into her room, I had to control my shock. The child was huge, swollen from the heavy dose of steroids coursing through her veins. I couldn’t even see her eyes.

When I tried to make some small talk, she just started crying. I looked at her mother and said, “I think I’ll go now.” The girl was not ready to talk.

Every woman who walks the face of this Earth has a story to tell. Perhaps one woman’s tale is more dramatic than another’s, but in the end, the challenges we face are our opportunities to come closer to Hashem, and live a richer, more fulfilling life. In the end, it’s not what we went through.

It’s what we did with it.

TO EACH HER OWN: THE PAIN OF THE BLACK MARKER As much as every cancer patient understands her fellow sufferers to some extent, every human being is complex. What makes one woman’s heart ache triggers no pain in the next, which is why helping others in this area necessitates a fine balance of true empathy and concern.

I remember an incident that really brought this point home to me. One woman I was speaking with, who exhibited immense strength and courage throughout her tough ordeal, would never break down. Our discussions were usually philosophical, even a bit technical, and she reassured me that she was doing well—until one evening. When I picked up the phone to her call, all I heard was sobbing on the other end of the line. The woman was crying uncontrollably and I was caught by surprise.

I couldn’t fathom what had happened to her that day.

Finally, she caught her breath and calmed down.That day she had gone for the pre-op visit to her oncologist in preparation for her mastectomy.To plan out the exact areas that would need to be removed, he used a black permanent marker to draw the lines, as is the standard procedure. “When I saw those lines in the mirror,” the woman cried, “I lost it. Nothing was mine anymore. I had become the property of others.”

UNDER WRAPS: TO SAY OR NOT TO SAY? Telling the children about a serious illness that their mother or father is enduring is a tough decision. Because there is no general rule about what is best for them, this is one of the decisions I help women think through. How old is the child? Is it a girl or a boy? How much do they need to know?

In my case, we’ve decided that it’s better not to tell. Every year, I fly in from Detroit to run in the marathon in Central Park to support breast cancer. Every participant writes an inspiring message on her back. One year, I wrote on my little daughter’s back, “In memory of my grandmother, with love for my mother, and hope for myself.”

Cancer Awareness Issue | The Wellspring 17

WellTopic Informed

Dedicated to Health By Esther Handler

10 QUESTIONS FOR RABBI YANKEL MARMORSTIEN FOUNDER AND DIRECTOR OF BNEI EMUNIM

1

WHAT IS BNEI EMUNIM IN A NUTSHELL?

Bnei Emunim is an organization that provides awareness to the community regarding the importance of reciting berachos, particularly the berachah of Asher Yatzar, out loud and with concentration.

3

HOW DOES BNEI EMUNIM SPREAD THIS IMPORTANT MESSAGE?

2

WHAT MOTIVATED YOU TO LAUNCH THE BNEI EMUNIM CAMPAIGN?

My father, zichrono livrachah, was a very erlicheh Yid, and tefillah was a big part of his life. He particularly emphasized the berachos of Birchos Hashachar, being careful to say them in front of someone else, whether it was us children or a stranger, so that they would answer Amen.

4

When my father passed away, I tried to get a program started in his memory, but I had a hard time getting it off the ground. So I devised the concept of offering prizes to schools in Eretz Yisroel that would encourage their students to say Birchos Hashachar in front of their friends. Just like the boys have a chavrusa in Gemara, they have a chavrusa in tefillah.

We offer raffles and other incentives to the students as motivation. Through the incentive program, the project and its message began to catch on.

HOW MANY SCHOOLS ARE PARTICIPATING IN THIS PROGRAM TODAY? Fifty percent of Israeli schools, yeshivos, and Bais Yaakovs from all sects of Yiddishkeit are involved in this program.

5

WHAT PROGRAMS DOES BNEI EMUNIM SPONSOR IN AMERICA?

We arrange large events and rallies to raise awareness about the important topic of saying berachos. Several years ago, we produced a music CD that features songs by today’s famous singers on the importance of saying Amen.

THE CHOFETZ CHAIM TELLS US THAT RECITING ASHER YATZAR WITH KAVANAH HAS THE POWER TO PREVENT MANY ILLNESSES. 18 The Wellspring | Autumn 2016

6

CAN YOU SHARE A THOUGHT ABOUT THE IMPORTANCE OF ANSWERING AMEN?

7

CAN YOU SHARE A STORY ABOUT THE POWER OF ANSWERING AMEN?

It’s actually a frightening story, told by Rav Shlomo Zalman Auerbach, but the message is incredibly powerful.

In Birchas Hamazon we say, “bivrachah sheRav Mordechai Yaffe, the Levush, once went to study by a leimah, venomar Amen.” What’s a complete great Sephardic scholar named Rabbi Abohav. One day, Rabbi berachah? The berachah after which we say Amen. In Abohav’s son made a berachah and everyone answered Amen, other words, a berachah is not complete without Amen. except for Rabbi Yaffe.

Rabbi Abohav was so angry that he This final word is like the last words written on a check. excommunicated him.

After 30 days, Rabbi Yaffe begged for You can write someone a million dollar check, but withforgiveness, which Rabbi Abohav granted. out the signature, it’s worthless.

Rabbi Abohav then told him the following story, which depicts the severe consequences of not answering Amen, explaining that he excommunicated him to save him from a much harsher punishment.

Before the expulsion of the Jews from Spain in 1492, there were holy Jewish communities living there. Torquemada, the leader of the Inquisition, attempted to expel the Jews many times, but because there was one pious Jew whom King Ferdinand respected, the king would save the Jews from expulsion time and again. After one such edict, the Jews came to the king’s friend begging him to intervene on their behalf. Although he wished to daven Minchah first, they persuaded him to go immediately, since it was a matter of life or death.

The king was very happy to see the Jew, and they started conversing about the decree. Meanwhile, a priest entered the room and started to bless the king with a long Latin blessing. The Jew, who had not yet davened Minchah, withdrew to a corner and started to daven, hoping that he would finish davening before the priest would conclude his blessing; thus his absence would go unnoticed.

The priest, however, concluded his blessing while the Jew was still davening Minchah and called upon everyone present to answer (the Latin equivalent of) Amen to his blessing. Everyone answered Amen except the Jew. Afterward, when the priest asked the Jew if he had answered Amen, he replied that he hadn’t. The priest flew into a rage, screaming that now his blessing would not be WHY DOES BNEI fulfilled. When King Ferdinand heard this, he also became furious and EMUNIM FOCUS sentenced the Jew to a most cruel death. Then, together with Queen PARTICULARLY ON Isabella, he signed the final edict expelling all the Jews from Spain by Tishah b’Av 1492.

THIS BERACHAH? A close friend of the murdered Jew fasted for many days to be allowed The Mishnah Berurah says that if we say Ashto know what sin he had committed to deserve such a brutal death. The er Yatzar with the proper kavanah, we will nevmurdered Jew appeared to his friend in a dream and explained that one er get sick. As one of the first berachos we say time he had neglected to answer Amen to his child’s blessing. Until the each morning. It precedes all others because incident with the priest, the Heavenly Court had not prosecuted him. our health comes before everything else. We However, when the priest became angry with the Jew for not saying run to top doctors, but we forget that Hashem Amen to the blessing, the Heavenly Court prosecuted him for his earlier is the best Doctor of all. He gave us this beautilack and sentenced him to this horrible death. ful berachah that can protect us and bring the Rabbi Abohav concluded, “Heavmost amazing yeshuos. This is the best prevenen will forgive you on the condition medicine we have.

WHICH BE- that you publicize this story, and tative There’s a tefillah for parnassah, a tefillah for RACHAH DOES warn everyone to be careful and al- nachas, and this is the tefillah for gezunt. ways answer Amen.”

9

8

BNEI EMUNIM FOCUS ON THE MOST?

Asher Yatzar, the berachah in which we thank Hashem for our physical health and acknowledge that our bodies cannot function properly for even one second without His intervention.

10

DO YOU SEE A SPECIAL CONNECTION BETWEEN RCCS’S MISSION AND BNEI EMUNIM’S MISSION?

RCCS’s mission is to be there for the sick in our community and help heal them. Our Sages teach us that saying berachos properly can prevent these illnesses. When a person says Asher Yatzar with kavanah, it could save him from needing to approach RCCS for the wonderful help they provide.

In Shemoneh Esrei we say that Hashem is the Rofeh Cholim, but in Asher Yatzar we don’t mention cholim. Rather, we say that Hashem is the “Rofeh chol basar.” This is because our very flesh is designed to repair itself. Hashem created a healthy body that can deal with sickness. If we would only say Asher Yatzar with kavanah, Hashem would not let us get sick in the first place. Of course, Hashem runs the world. We can’t understand why people are suffering from illness, and there’s no foolproof way to prevent it. But we can try to protect ourselves with the power of saying Asher Yatzar with kavanah.

Cancer Awareness Issue | The Wellspring 19

Wellbeing

Health Personality By Miri Davis

A CUP OF TEA WITH...

DR. TOVA KOENIGSBERG

OCCUPATION: Director, Division of Breast Imaging LOCATION OF PRACTICE: Montefiore Medical Center, NY YEARS IN PRACTICE: 18+ PASSION: To use the kochos and tools Hashem has given me to help others SHE WISHES WOMEN WOULD KNOW THAT: Screening mammography is a simple tool that can make a genuine difference in women’s health.

HOW DID YOU GET INTO THE FIELD OF WOMEN’S IMAGING? I’m a radiologist with a desire to help women. This was my opportunity to combine my work with my passion.

WHY IS BREAST IMAGING SO VITAL TO WOMEN’S HEALTH? Early detection is our goal. A mammogram can detect breast cancer as early as in Stage 0 or 1, when the relative survival rate currently approaches 100%.

In fact, mammograms can detect changes in the breast up to two years before the patient or doctor can feel them. This is what makes screening so important even for patients who have no symptoms or no family history of breast cancer.

Studies have shown that mammography has reduced deaths from breast cancer by nearly 40% since 1990.

FROM WHAT AGE SHOULD WOMEN BE SCREENED? While this has currently become a controversial topic in the news, The American College of Radiology still recommends that all women of average risk begin screening at age 40 and continue yearly screening if they are in good health.

Forty has been established as the important year because the incidence of breast cancer begins to increase more rapidly at 40 and in fact, one in six breast cancer cases occurs in women between the ages of 40 and 49.

UNTIL WHAT AGE SHOULD WOMEN BE SCREENED? The American College of Radiology does not give a specific age cutoff point. This is something every woman should discuss with her doctor, depending on her overall health.

ISN’T A YEAR A LONG STRETCH IN WHICH THE CANCER CAN MULTIPLY? One year is currently considered the right interval between scans for patients to benefit most from screening. Of course, if a patient feels a lump or notes other breast changes within the year, she should alert her physician and come in earlier for testing.

HOW MANY WOMEN DO YOU SEE EVERY DAY? The number varies. At Montefiore, we screen about 40,000 women for breast cancer every year. We also do about 15,000 diagnostic studies, which are studies that are tailored to patients with a specific breast problem or performed in patients with a personal history of breast cancer.

WHAT IS THE SCREENING PROCESS LIKE? A mammogram is a specialized x-ray of the breast with a very low radiation dose, which is relatively quick and painless. Some facilities currently offer 3-D mammography or tomosynthesis, which takes multiple X-ray pictures of the breast from many angles. This new technology has been shown to find slightly more cancers and have fewer false positives than traditional mammography. And, some women benefit from both a mammography and an ultrasound, depending on their risk level and breast density.

WHAT HAPPENS WHEN A CANCER IS, G-D FORBID, DETECTED IN STAGE 0 OR 1?

When breast cancer is still in its early stages it can be

The Wellspring | Autumn 2016 20

treated less extensively, so patients can have breast conservation and radiation therapy. Of course, the survival rate is higher, as well.

DOES INSURANCE COVER MAMMOGRAPHY? Yes. Insurance covers both screening and diagnostic mammography, though not all insurance carriers currently cover 3-D mammography.

WHY DO YOU THINK WOMEN ARE SO RELUCTANT TO UNDERGO THE SCREENING PROCESS?

ish population, to know their family history. There’s a high prevalence of BRCA1 and 2 genes in this population and women with a family history of breast cancer may be at risk of carrying these or other familial genetic mutations.

Also, if a woman has comparison films from other outside institutions,, she should always bring them along if she decides to go to another facility. This can prevent unnecessary repeat films and even biopsies.

While many women are reluctant to undergo screening because they are afraid of the results, it is important to reiterate that early detection is the goal.

I think that many women are fearful of a few things. First of all, they may be afraid that mammograms are painful, but overall most women tolerate the exam without much discomfort at all. If someone is particularly sensitive, she can alert the technologist who can work with her to make her experience as comfortable as possible.

Patients should also not be afraid of the radiation dose, which is extremely low now that almost all centers use digital techniques. Finally, while many women are reluctant to undergo screening because they are afraid of the results, it is important to reiterate that early detection is the goal.

IN ADDITION TO ANNUAL SCREENING, HOW ELSE CAN A WOMAN TAKE THE NECESSARY STEPS TO DETECT BREAST CANCER IN ITS EARLIEST STAGE POSSIBLE? If a woman feels a lump in her breast, or she sees changes in the skin or has bloody or clear nipple discharge, she should inform her doctor, no matter her age. While most lumps in the breast are benign, it is important that any new finding that does not disappear with the woman’s cycle be investigated.

WHAT KIND OF FEEDBACK DO WOMEN RECEIVE AFTER THEIR MAMMOGRAMS ARE READ? Federal law mandates that all women receive a letter in the mail informing them of the results of their mammogram.

In addition, however, there is a relatively new law in NY that women must be informed of their breast density, which is something the radiologist determines when reading the mammogram. If the woman’s breast is dense, she is advised to speak with her doctor to determine whether she would benefit from additional screening with ultrasound or MRI. It is not meant to scare women but to allow them to make informed decisions.

IS THERE ANYTHING ELSE THAT YOU FEEL IS IMPORTANT FOR WOMEN TO KNOW REGARDING THEIR HEALTH? It’s crucial for women, especially from the Ashkenazi Jew-

SINCE YOU’VE ENTERED THE FIELD, HOW HAS THE DEVELOPMENT TOWARD BREAST CANCER DETECTION BEEN? Over the eighteen years, we’ve gone from analog x-ray film mammography to an all-digital process with lower radiation doses and are now moving toward 3-D mammograms. We are also focusing more on ultrasound and MRI.

WHAT IS IT LIKE TO READ SO MANY MAMMOGRAMS EVERY DAY? It is a very intense process in which every study requires extreme concentration. I try to give every mammogram my complete attention, as if the patient is sitting in front of me. Some are very complicated and others are more straightforward.

There are times the mammogram, ultrasound, and MRI need to be put together like a complicated puzzle to work out the best plan for the patient, but I view this as my opportunity to make a difference and save a life.

Cancer Awareness Issue | The Wellspring 21

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EXTINGUISH THE BURN

Natural solutions for heartburn and indigestion

THINK YOGA IS ONLY FOR FLEXIBLE PEOPLE? THINK AGAIN Yael Stromer, RYT, on how yoga can change your life

GRAB A PEN!

GOOD FOOD INSIDE

You don’t have to be a writer to reap the benefits of journaling

ISSUE 7 AUGUST 2016 AV 5776

IN SEASON: ENJOY THE FRUITS OF SUMMER IN YOUR GLASS OF SPARKLING NECTAR-ADE

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ISSUE 7 AUGUST 2016 AV 5776

FOR BODY AND SOUL: FINALLY, FLUFFY WHOLE-WHEAT CHALLAH FOR SHABBOS NACHAMU

WELL OF YOUTH: TEENS, DOES SITTING IN YOUR DESK FOR MANY HOURS GIVE YOU A HUNCHBACK?

FROM DESPAIR TO HOPE

KIDS’ PULLOU SECTION

T

Dyslexia is not what you think it is Dr. Rinat Green on early detection and treatment

PAGE 33

NO ENERGY WASTED

Six workout mistakes that keep you from seeing results

CUP OF TEA

WITH DR. RACHAEL SCHINDLER

“The body doesn’t know the difference between a bit of sugar and a lot of sugar.”

NEW EMOTIONAL WELLNESS COLUMN

BY ESTHER MOSKOVITZ, LCSW

GOOD FOOD INSIDE

Do you feel like an observer of your own life?

Brought to you by: ISSUE 8 SEPTEMBER 2016 ELUL 5776 PB&J THE HEALTHY WAY: FUN, NUTRITIOUS SCHOOL SNACKS LIKE SURPRISE OATMEAL PEANUT-BUTTER COOKIES

WEALTH OF HEALTH MEET THE CREATOR OF NATURALIFE™ CREAMS

GIVE ME YOUR STING AND YOUR HONEY Apitherapy: How bee venom has the potential to heal Renowned author Sarah Shapiro’s intriguing experience

HEALTH PROFILE

NEW COLUMN!

Get acquainted with Baila’s health and wellness lifestyle Plus! Advice and comments from nutritionist Tanya Rosen

FROM THE GROUND UP Psychologist Dr. Rosenshein on how to speak to children about cancer and illness

CUP OF TEA

ETROG MAN

GOOD FOOD INSIDE

The esrog contains a slew of nutrients that are good for you

Brought to you by: ISSUE 9 OCTOBER 2016 TISHREI 5777 RESTAURANT-WORTHY DISHES LIKE ROSEMARY LAMB KEBABS THAT WILL LEAVE YOUR GUESTS FEELING IMPRESSED AND SATISFIED

CONFERENCE WITH ISAAC SANDER OF HEALTHY JOY BAKES

MY SHOCKING DISCOVERY: THE FIRE WITHIN I thought eczema was the reason for my inflamed skin. The culprit was cortisone.

DEDICATED TO HEALTH Ten Questions for Rabbi Hershel Kohn of RCCS

NEW COLUMN!

CUP OF TEA

GOOD FOOD INSIDE

How can I get my baby to sleep through the night? Sleep coach Shifra Sadoff has the answer

Brought to you by: ISSUE 10 NOVEMBER 2016 CHESHVAN 5777 SOUP FOR THE SOUL: WHAT BETTER WAY TO START A WINTER DINNER?

Fare Well

Food for Thought

When ‘I' is replaced by ‘we,’ illness becomes wellness.

Cancer Awareness Issue | The Wellspring 23

AN OUNCE OF PREVENTION IS WORTH A POUND OF CURE. -Benjamin Franklin

Cancer prevention and early detection can make happy happen.

A joint project by The Wellspring Magazine and RCCS with you in mind